Another Morning
by jellibean13
Summary: Hope is trying her best to be there for her family and make a life of her own. But when her life spirals out of control can she still find the one thing she desires most, her true love?
1. Another Morning

_There was a strange fog over the house, almost magical in appearance. She felt the urge to walk into the house although she did not recognize it at all. The path to the door seemed to unfold in front of her, and as her hand touched the strangely shaped doorknob the house fell away into a black. She gazed around and the doorknob started circling her, slowly at first then with increasing speed, morphing as it turned. It was her dog, her mom and dad, all of her friends. Then it slowed and turned into her brother, she began running, running as far from the object as she could. She slipped and fell into the dark._

Waking with a start Hope realized that there was a scream caught in her throat and tears all over her pillow. She'd had this dream before, the house and the strange doorknob seemed familiar yet strange. Getting out of bed she realized it couldn't be later then 7 o'clock in the morning. Yawning Hope made her bed, careful not to wake up Lucy her younger sister, though it did not help make the small 4 room apartment any cleaner. Without looking she knew what she'd find outside of the bedroom. Bottles around the couch, and a lot of mess in what they called the "Main" room. In her parents room she knew that Mama would be alone and if she was awake she would be sobbing. Dad would out drinking, he always left after their fights.

Hope crept out and went into the bathroom to wash her face. She looked in the mirror and brushed her chestnut hair, it was short and the ends curled inward giving her china doll face a more delicate look. Her family could not afford any hairdryers or curlers, she couldn't even afford make up. When she was little Hope loved Mama's eyes, they were such a pretty amber color. Mama had long dark brown hair once soft and beautiful, now greasy and tangled. Her nose was small, like Hope's, but her chin was sharp. Hope always wondered where her chin cam from, certainly not her Dad with his broad jawbone. Her Dad was a classic handsome, blue eyes brown hair and a five o'clock shadow. Now looking into her own green with specks of Mama's amber she was very content with herself and not only her eyes but her body and face. She dressed in a red shirt and her favorite jeans and went into the living room to clean. Hope tried to make her family's life better by doing all she could, after straightening she got out a pan and started cooking some eggs when she heard a moan from her mother's room.

"Hope?" she groaned.

"Yes, Mama? What do you need?" Hope tried not to roll her eyes as she replied

"I need some help honey, your Mama's not as young as she used to be you know." She broke into tears at the end of her sentence. "Oh Hope, I've done it now! Your Daddy ain't gonna come back! He's left me! He left! I don't even remember what on God's Earth we were fighting about! Oh Lord what've I done?" She wailed.

"Mama, you can't yell you're gonna wake Lucy up." Hope ran into Mama's room knowing full well that Lucy could sleep through an earthquake. "You need to calm down Mama. Everything will be okay, just calm down. I even made you some breakfast."

"I know Hope, I know. And thanks a lot, you knew I wouldn't be in a cookin' mood, never am after a little disagreement with your Dad. I just need some help up. But, oh, if your Daddy's left me I don't know what I'll do! Sorry dear, sorry." She sighed.

Hope helped Mama to the table then gave her a plate of cold eggs. She murmured an apology, however it seemed as though Mama didn't care much she ate the eggs in a minute flat then carried her dish and plopped it in the sink. _So far so good_ thought Hope, Mama seemed to be doing okay until she reached their worn down loveseat. Then she started laughing.

"Hope, did you ever realize how this loveseat sinks so far down! I swear I can feel the floor! I remember when we bought this chair you were just a baby, not even a month old." She started crying, "This was supposed to be a temporary house. And now look! Look! Your eight-teen and we're still in this little apartment with the same old chair. Steven, your Dad I mean, he's left because of me!" She began to sob hysterically. Hope ran over and hugged her.

"It's okay Mama, its okay. Daddy will come back." She whispered as she tried to calm down her Mama.

"No Hope! It's not okay! You hear me! Don't you ever compromise! Listen to your heart, but only so much! Look at my life, I don't want you to have this kind of life! Get a good job, go to school and only look at the best of men! Rich men don't last long, money fades but love, real love, doesn't." She yelled, she was shaking Hope, as if trying to make her understand what she was saying.

"Okay Mama, okay. Be a little quieter you're going to wake up..." She stopped as Lucy walked in hugging an old teddy bear once belonging to Hope.

"I heard loud voices, is everyone okay?" She asked. Although Lucy was 14 years old she still slept with the teddy bear, she claimed it was habit.

"Yes Honey we're fine." Mama said, lowering her hands.

"Breakfast's on the table, a bit cold though." Hope warned. "And only 2 more days of school left! I can't wait!" She said happily trying to cheer everyone up.

"I think Lucy and I better have a talk." Mama said, her tone of voice signaled that it was about Daddy and Lucy wouldn't like it. Lucy was always clueless and it showed as she stuck her tongue out at Hope as if this proved she was now the favorite. Lucy had always hated that about Hope.

"Okay then, I'm going to leave for school, can you drive Lucy today Mama?" She asked.

"Sure Honey." She said half heartedly. Hope wasn't sure she should leave but the look Lucy gave her convinced her to leave. She tried to do so without thinking about her Dad, Mom, or any other troubles.


	2. Numb

(Sorry that i had a small typo, i meant 2 WEEKS left of school not 2 days!)

After Hope Spencer had left home all she'd been doing was thinking about that dream she'd had that morning. _Why is Clark always in the dream? _That was what she couldn't understand.

When I and Clark had been born Clark had gotten less oxygen and had an organ problem. He was very sick, always sick, Mama was always careful with him. If she could have I knew she would have gotten a bubble to put him in. In my heart I knew by the time I reached five years old that somehow Clark wasn't going to live. As my twin Clark was the best of friends and the best brother I could ever have had, in his five and a half years alive he had taught me everything about love, patience, and caring then anyone else. I often missed him, though by the time I hit puberty his face was far from my mind, until the day that Daddy hit Mama. They started fighting around the time that he died, and one warm summer night, amidst the yelling Daddy threw a bottle at Mama. I got a big gash across my cheek and fainted from the pain. That was the day that I remembered what Clark had said about Mama and Daddy.

"_I wish that one day a prince will come and fall in love with me, like Mommy and Daddy are in love." I had confided in him one day. Though the answer I got was more then I expected even from him._

"_Mommy and Daddy aren't in love, booger-brain." He said plainly as if it were a well known fact._

"_Oh yes they are Clark. Are you being and 'old sold' like Mommy called you? Because if you are then you don't know the first thing about love, you cooty face!!" I knew Mommy and Daddy loved each other, even if he didn't!_

_He sighed, "Mommy and Daddy are together because they have to be not 'cuz they want to be. And its 'Old Soul' not sold. It means that I'm more mature." He began to play with his train again._

"_You'll never fall in love, just because you're an old fart! And that's worse then an old soul!" I cried. **How could he say that Mommy and Daddy weren't in love! Of course they were or else the stork wouldn't have brought us! **I had thought angrily._

"_When you get older," Clark began "you'll understand. Just make sure you end up well." Then Clark had walked away and left me somewhere between crying and yelling._

How had Clark always been so smart? I'd never figured that out. That was also the day that I realized Mommy and Daddy were in love, but they weren't right for each other. But still what did Clark have to do with my dream? Then I heard a distant ring and realized that was the first bell! I had been going too slowly. I started jogging. By the time I'd reached my class I was out of breath and 5 minutes late. I walked in and was surprised by bumping into another student.

"Sorry." I murmured. Suddenly I remembered a new student was coming today, and that I'd thought it was the stupidest thing to do, 2 weeks before school is over send a new kid in.

"Well I, how nice of you to join us. I was just introducing our new student, Chandler, to the class. Well since your up here already why don't your show Chandler all of his classes." Mr. Gluman said sarcastically.

"Now?" I asked completely lost.

The class laughed "Yes now! Go before I send you to the principal!" He yelled. I walked back out closely followed by Chandler. I turned and faced him.

"So where are your classes?" I sighed. He smiled, and it was then that I realized just how cute he was. Chandler had red hair in an army style buzz cut, a strong nose and chin and soft brown eyes. I felt myself redden from being near him.

"Mr. Gluman doesn't like you very much does he?" Chandler said with a small smile.

"Well, he met my family once. That was a disaster." I stopped short. Had I just said that? I'd never told anyone about that time and here I was not even knowing his last name!

"Oh, well, let's see. Next I have science with, uh, Priglioa?" he stuttered. "Wow! His parents must not have liked him!" I laughed and shook my head.

"No, no. _Her _name is Prigla, silent O." I smiled.

"Already I'm being corrected here!" he gasped, pretending to be seriously hurt by this comment. Which only made me blush more then before, I extended my hand.

"My name is Hope. Hope Spencer." I shook his hand.

"Well hi Hope, my name is Baxter. Chandler Baxter." He raised his eyebrows as he spoke in a rich accent. I laughed harder. After Mr. Gluman yelled at me again for "dawdling" I showed him his classrooms and walked him back to class. He was a nice guy, he made sense when he talked, he didn't sound like all those other brainless idiots in this school. I had a good time and at lunch he came to sit with me.

"I only made one more friend today and I don't see him anywhere so" Chandler broke off.

"Well, gee, you make it sound so nice. Please come and sit!" I cried motioning my arms. He jumped a little.

"Sorry!" He raised his hands in surrender. I moved over and then another person was next to me and it wasn't Chandler. It was Nick Walsh, the school hunk. He had blonde hair about the length of his adam's apple it had a cute curl at the end. His sparkling green eyes brought out his firm jaw bone and nice nose.

"Hey!" Nick and Chandler said to each other. Chandler sat across from me and they began to talk. I was feeling very awkward then.

"Oh yeah, this is Nick, Hope meet Nick. Nick meet Hope." He said cheerily and waited expectantly for us to shake hands.

I stuck my hand out, "Uh hi Nick" I said. When Nick took my hand to shake it, something happened, I felt a strange jolt and our hands parted quickly. We looked at each other feeling our hands.

"Are you two new at this hand shaking thing?" Chandler asked. I laughed nervously. "What do you have next Nick?"

"Um, oh yeah. Art with Smith." He murmured still looking at his hand.

"Me too." Chandler and me said at once "Great!" Chandler cried "We can walk together!" He was obviously happy about this so what could we say. In class the teacher told us to get partners, Chandler grabbed Nick and I was left alone, I didn't have many friends, school was more of a step not something I wanted to dwell on. Mrs. Smith saw me and cried, in her normal embarrassing voice;

"Oh deary, we happen to have an extra person here!" she looked around and I looked into peoples faces making them turn away so I wouldn't choose them to be with. "Who will let her be with them?"

"We will!" I looked over to find Chandler had yelled that.

"Okay honey, you go on over" Mrs. Smith cooed. Then she started on the project, after school we were all to meet and we had to paint each other, and it had to be appropriate, she'd stressed. There were some giggles and then me and Nick looked at each other both with an expression of exasperation. The project turned out to be that we had to paint a portrait of each other. Now not only was I horribly embarrassed at being a complete idiot in front of Nick at lunch and the whole class earlier but in order to properly paint a portrait we had to learn about each other's lives.

Mrs. Smith walked over to us her long red skirt hitting just above her ankles and swishing about as she practically skipped over to us. Mrs. Smith was a very energetic person who loved the whole graceful ballerina look.

"Ah my little complicated group." She smiled, "I think what I'll have you do is have two of you follow one person for a day, then you'll get to paint, I'll give you the last half of a week extra, so instead of doing worksheets you'll paint, Okay? Okay!" She put her hands on Chandler and Nick's shoulders and walked away.

"Okay then, who wants to be haunted the first day?" Chandler asked. As if this was the best thing he had ever done. And when no one answered he shrugged and volunteered himself. While we worked out where to meet him and at what time tomorrow to get a good sense of his normal day someone had entered the classroom and walked to the teacher.

Minutes later I was running down the hall to the office. When I got there I ran into my Mama sitting there, her eyes red and puffy I could tell she'd tried unsuccessfully to hide it with make-up. She stood up and walked outside, I smiled at the secretary who was squinting trying to get a good look at my mom, and walked outside. Mama was already half-way down the parking lot when I caught up to her.

"What's going on Mama? I heard there was something wrong? An accident? Is Lucy okay?" I kept shooting questions at her until she turned and finally answered.

"No, nothing's okay, I couldn't drive Lucy to school today, your father took the truck!" she screamed. I could smell the alcohol on her breath, and my stomach dropped.

"Mama..." I whispered. She turned and faced me her eyes red and bloodshot.

"He crashed! Of course he did! Your father crashed in the only thing we could have made money from!" She was so angry spit was flying from her mouth. _How can she care about money right now?_ All that I wanted to know was about Dad.

"How is he?" I managed to stammer.

"How is he? How is he! He's dead!" She laughed cruelly. "He died! Couldn't make it to a bar fast enough and now he's paying for it!" She started crying. Mama could change emotions in a flat second when she was drunk, happy was sad and sad was funny. The funny thing was that I didn't feel like this was a dream, I was just numb, emotion was gone. I couldn't feel anything, and I wondered if I would ever be able to.


End file.
